Flight to the East

Needlessly complex storyline that's also awkwardly told. The narrative is anchored in a conversation between Cutts and Merrill aboard a flight to Cairo, but keeps cutting to flashbacks as reporter Merrill explains a court case he was involved in. The many details of the case are somewhat confusing, plus filming separate versions of the same event from two different standpoints (Merrill's & Cutt's) doesn't help. The dual versions is a novel concept for 50's TV, but in this context simply compounds the basic problem. Then there's the expected payoff that's both weak and implausible.

Frankly, I'm surprised the script passed muster with the producers. There may be some good plot ideas lurking somewhere in the screenplay, but unfortunately they're buried by the crowded storyline. At least, Cutts is lovely to look at and Merrill is a persuasive actor. Otherwise it's a disappointing entry.

"Flight to the East" is the first 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode to be directed by Arthur Hiller, who went on to direct a further sixteen episodes of varying success. It is also the second appearance in the series for Gary Merrill, previously seen in a supporting role in "The Manacled". Did really like the story on paper with a unique structure for the series at this point of its run, a great scenario to allow plenty of suspense. While also worrying as to whether it would be too talky or try to cover or explain too much, which has been the case with a number of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' before and since.

It is also the case in "Flight to the East". It is not a bad episode in my view, as it does show off Merrill's talent very well and has its moments. It is also heavily flawed, almost all of it story related, and is not a great first impression for Hiller. Luckily he did go on to do better for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', including his next episode "Disappearing Trick". When it comes to Season 3, "Flight to the East" is not one of the best by any stretch, but it is also not one of the worst again by any stretch.

There are good things here. Merrill is very good and carries the episode with persuasive authority. Patricia Cutts is also strong and they interact beautifully together. Also thought that the episode was filmed very nicely and cleverly, Cutts is very photogenic too.

Hitchcock's bookending is amusingly ironic and "Funeral March of a Marionette" continues to be classic theme music, love how suitably macabre it is.

On the other hand, "Flight to the East" could have been a lot better. It is too talky, especially in the first half that also didn't need to explain so much. And it is of the kind that does ramble and has too much in a short period of time to digest what is being said. Hiller's direction is undistinguished and has a bite off more than he can chew. The story sounded good on paper but very flawed in execution, actually can say very little if anything good about it.

Something that immediately struck me was how over-crowded it was, with it trying to cram in too much content in too short a space of time. A longer length of at least 15 minutes, and even better feature length, would have done this very interesting story structure justice. With the too short length and over-crowding, it made the episode feel confusing and rushed and the constant backing and forthing between the two viewpoints confused things further. It is also dull, with no suspense or tension, the flashbacks bogging down the momentum and of course the over talkiness of the script. The ending is both anaemic and implausible.

Concluding, watchable but a disappointment. 5/10.

I was really bored by this episode, flat, ankward, a real sleeping pill. I dislike this kind of story, with flashbackq. Gary Merrill deserved more than this. I had to watch it twice, because I thought to have missed something. But no, this is a lousy plot with however a small twist ending. I prefer forgetting it.

First off, this is another one of those stories that could have been better told with an "hour" long episode.

Differing versions of a series of events are told, alternating between the versions for each event. Since each segment is so short, there is a lot of rushed exposition, but not a lot of detail.

Worst is the quick ending which could have used more explanation. Perhaps sixty years later we are too far from the time of the events described to know the unstated background.

Gary Merrill has to carry most of the dialog, since he is the center of the two versions. He does his usual excellent job.

When I watched "Flight to the East", I marveled at Gary Merrill's acting...he was a really good actor. But I also was very disappointed by the script and the episode left me wondering is that all there is?!

This talky and rather dull episode begins on an airplane. Merrill's character is sitting between two people and he and the lady next to him strike up a conversation. During a long flashback, he explains to her that he's a victim of circumstances in the death of a bad man. Then, she explains why she's on the plane and her view of events is pretty much the opposite of his...much like the Kurosawa film "Roshomon"...but dull.

This episode lacked the wonderful twists that made the best episodes of the show so good. That and the talkiness of it just left me very flat and wanting it to get end.